The invention relates generally to a steam mop, particularly for steam cleaning smooth floor surfaces, such as linoleum, wood and tile.
As there has been an increased interest in environmentally friendly methods for household cleaning, the interest in steam cleaning in the home has also increased. This method of cleaning has the advantage of using water rather than chemicals which are expensive and sometimes hazardous to use or dispose of. Steam cleaning apparatus has, however, often been too bulky and expensive for household use.
An improvement to steam cleaning apparatus was proposed by Baldacci in U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,952. The object was to provide a steam-cleaning appliance that is easier to maneuver, more compact, simpler to use and safer to fill. The Baldacci appliance includes a boiler having a heating element contained therein. The water needed to produce the steam is poured into the boiler, and steam produced rises to the top of the boiler and escapes through a manifold to be dispensed on the floor surface which it is desired to clean.
One problem with much of the prior art including the appliance of Baldacci, however, is that there is no means for increasing or otherwise controlling the amount of steam produced as the appliance is being used. The present inventor has recognized that, particularly where the appliance employs a boiler as in Baldacci for heating the water to produce the steam, there is typically no means for providing a substantially instantaneous increase in the amount of steam produced in the appliance, such as is commonly provided in an iron, for example.
The head of the cleaning appliance of Baldacci includes a housing to be maneuvered on a floor surface, the bottom of which is connected to a base fitted with a handle. A removable cloth is secured to the bottom of the base by means of a hook and loop fastener. One fastening portion of the hook and loop fastener is apparently attached to the cloth and the other portion of the hook and loop fastener is apparently attached to the bottom of the base. The removable cloth is an important advance; however, to remove or install the cloth requires aligning the hook and loop fastener portions of the cloth with mating portions underneath the appliance, which generally necessitates tipping the appliance on its side or turning the appliance up-side down. These manipulations of the appliance are troublesome and awkward, especially because a relatively long handle extends from the apparatus for enabling its use to clean a floor from a standing position.
Accordingly, there is a need for a steam mop that provides, in a compact form particularly adapted for use in the home, a means for providing a substantially instantaneous increase in the amount of steam produced and an increased facility for removably attaching a cleaning cloth.
The steam mop according to the present invention solves the aforementioned problem and meets the aforementioned need by providing a housing adapted for resting on a floor surface and a handle connected to the housing having sufficient length to permit maneuvering the housing on the floor surface from a standing position. The housing contains a steam producing portion of the mop comprising a water reservoir for storing water and a heating plate outside the water reservoir. The reservoir dispenses water to the heating element which heats the dispensed water to produce steam substantially instantaneously. The steam is carried through apertures at the bottom of the housing which direct the steam toward the floor surface.
The reservoir is adapted to feed water to the heating element at a predetermined rate, preferably by gravity. However, the reservoir preferably includes a mechanism for dispensing additional water to the heating element on demand to produce a xe2x80x9cburst of steam.xe2x80x9d
Preferably, an absorbent cloth is provided over the bottom of the housing to make contact with the floor surface. Preferably as well, a relatively stiff perimeter frame is attached to the cloth to form a cloth assembly that is adapted to fit snugly around the bottom perimeter of the housing, to secure the cloth to the steam mop.
The cloth assembly is easily fitted to the housing by lifting the mop a few inches off the floor, sliding the cloth assembly underneath the mop, and setting the housing of the mop down inside the perimeter frame.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved steam mop.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a steam mop that is compact, easy to maneuver, and simple and safe to use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a steam mop particularly adapted for cleaning floors in the home.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a steam mop that provides a means for providing a substantially instantaneous increase in the amount of steam produced.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a steam mop that provides an increased facility for removably attaching a cleaning cloth.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the following drawings.